Forex news from the European trading session - 15 August 2018

Headlines:

Markets:

  • USD, JPY leads, CAD lags behind
  • European equities lower, trades near the lows currently
  • Gold down 0.79% to $1,184.76
  • WTI down 1.06% to $66.34
  • US 10-year yields down 2.4 bps to 2.875%
  • Bitcoin up 3.78% to $6,304

It was a rather subdued trading day for the most part as the lira stole most of the limelight early on but then things are starting to come alive as equities face mounting pressure on multiple fronts.

The session started off with major currencies trading range-bound and stayed that way for almost the entirety of the session. The only real highlight was the lira as USD/TRY fell below the 6.00 handle before recovering to trade around 6.10 to 6.20 currently.

But as fears of the lira plunging at any point in time still lingering, equities started to turn the corner and trade lower. And add in Tencent's abysmal Q2 earnings report along with commodities (metals especially) dropping across the board, it's not making for a good time in stocks right now.

And all this came within the last one hour or so, and that is where we are now. And that sees the yen and dollar lead the way into US trading.

Looking at individual currency pairs, EUR/USD traded around 1.1320 levels early on before moving to trade between 1.1330-40 and then subsequently moved lower towards the lows now as the yen and dollar gets bid.

USD/JPY traded most of the day around 111.30 levels but has since moved lower as equities are taking a bit of a beating and trades at the lows currently.

GBP/USD had a more subdued session with the pair trading just under 1.2700 to start off before moving to a high of 1.2736 as the dollar surrendered some gains on the session. But the pair subsequently retreated as the inflation report offered nothing for pound bulls and now trades at 1.2710 levels.

USD/CHF continues to trade at the highs despite equities selling off in the last hour, this comes as SNB vice president reiterated the central bank's commitment to intervene in the market and that is likely what we're seeing today.

USD/CAD trades near the lows today above the 1.3100 handle now but traded around 1.3070-80 for the most part earlier on. As oil prices fall and equities come under pressure, it is helping to push the pair higher on the day.

AUD/USD and NZD/USD are having more subdued sessions as both pairs continue to trade sluggishly near the lows for majority of the trading day even as stocks fall now. Watch out for barrier options in AUD/USD at the 0.7200 level, there may be option-related bid interest there to help with support for the time being.